February 1970
Read More
D437 - Heaton Lodge - 15/2/1970
I can't imagine that this happened very often! D437 is seen passing Heaton Lodge Junction, Mirfield with a rake of 11 Bogie tanks and 1 x barrier vehicle at 15:10 on the 15th of February 1970.
The photo was a 'grab' shot taken by Mike Swift on a trip to witness the progress on the track layout and he retains all copyright and I have hosted it with his knowledge and permission - Grateful Thanks Mike :-0
At the time track was being rearranged
to connect the dive-under leading onto the Spen Valley line to the main line. A new relay room was being built opposite Heaton Lodge Signal Box.
It is slide shot on Agfa CT18 and therefore rather grainy. It was scanned/digitised at 720 dpi and has been cleaned up and noise reduced considerably.
I do not know how long bitumen trains have been running between Lindsey refinery and Preston Docks but the LOR opened in 1968. The tanks behind the 50 appear to be seriously filthy - in the way that bitumen carrying tanks tend to become - and do not appear to display any hazard warning labels, so that suggests that the train is probably empty bitumen tanks. At the time the image was taken time 50s were mainly on WCML duties between Crewe and Scotland (and intermediate points) so it is probable that Preston drivers would be trained on them. Preston men (or some of them) would also sign the road from there to Healey Mills. My suggestion is that this is a return working from Preston to Immingham, possibly organised after the failure of the locomotive which worked the outward train. It was possibly only intended to go as far as Healey Mills that day (certainly with that loco) and Healey Mills TCS would have had to arrange traincrew and loco to work the tanks forward. Meanwhile the Preston men would return home (probably LE) in their relatively luxurious machine. This was all a world away from later BR sectorisation and subsequent operation by private/privatised companies and seems a little - erm in the least - inefficient. But try and get into the head of the TCS at Preston. By despatching the train behind the 50 he could guarantee getting the loco back, also if he had sent a 40/47 on the job it might have been retained at HM to work the train forward to Immingham and his crew sent back passenger?
Thanks to Jim Livesey for bringing the slide to my attention (and most of the above supposition) around 4 years ago after it was shown at a Huddersfield Railway Circle gathering!
